After almost 3 years we finally get to experience live music in one of the prettiest settings in Switzerland. Baloise Session concerts are always special… Being able to see Lewis Capaldi and Sam Ryder this year was even better. 

The night’s motto was Song Poets – how fitting! I’ve seen Lewis Capaldi before, I know his songs and know how much of a “poet” he is. I wasn’t planning on shedding tears during Sam Ryder’s set though. Baloise Session can surprise you, I guess 🙂

Sam Ryder is warming up the audience for Lewis Capaldi 

Sam, who I too have discovered through TikTok, has an incredible voice. I’m sure most people found that out during this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Being up on stage only accompanied by a single guitar player is not easy. He did a great job engaging with the audience and entertaining them. Be it through lots of eeeeh ooooh’s or singing along – we were well prepared. 

When he announced his song “All the way over”, he said he wanted to dedicate it to anyone going through grief or loss and asked the audience to raise their hands if they were in one of these situations – just so he knows who he is singing to. 1 girl up front raised her hands. A few seconds later Sam grabbed his mic stand, jumped off stage, and was hugging that girl. You could see, she was emotional, tears were streaming down her face, while Sam started singing to her. Well, I can’t watch people cry without crying myself. There I was, not knowing the girl or the song, but crying like a baby… Nice 😂

The Spaceman wasn’t ready for Baloise Session

During his last song, the famous Eurovision song, Sam painfully had to realize that many Swiss people can be reserved. Singing along is not for everyone… Even during his “hit” song, there wasn’t much singing from the crowd. Oh well, he switched back to singing himself. What the audience was really good at though, was holding up their phones with the lights on. Which made beautiful scenery and must have looked really nice from up on stage.

Concert Pictures: Sam Ryder @ Baloise Session 

It’s time for Lewis Capaldi!

Around 9.30 pm our favorite Scottish singer took the stage. Casually dressed in his Celtics Sweater and ready to make us cry, whether it be from laughing or because of his sad songs. Starting out strong with the song Grace – you could feel the audience getting super excited. There was more movement in the crowd and I think I’ve heard some people singing along already. Lewis might not look like the “perfect” superstar – but he absolutely is in my books. 

Is Hollywood dead? 

Before performing his song “Hollywood”, Lewis mentioned, that this could potentially be the last time he’s singing this song live. I’m sorry what?? No! But yeah, he said “I just don’t like it anymore” or something along those lines. Ok, so let’s take it all in and hope he doesn’t actually follow through with this. I definitely want to hear “Hollywood” again. I guess we’ll see on March 7th at the Hallenstadion, when he’s due to perform again on his tour 🙂 

Jokes and Sunglasses 

One thing we know about Lewis – he likes to joke around and wear funny sunnies. The sunnies were not as extra as they used to be, but once he put them on, the die-hard fans did scream a little louder. While taking a bunch of videos or selfies with fans’ cellphones, he also had to mention a few times, that he is not a piece of meat 😂 Well, sorry Mr Capaldi, it’s your own fault. I guess after those Instagram Stories/Posts of you in the white undies, the ladies went crazy… 

When the last song is not the last song

It was time for one of my favorite songs, which is also one of the saddest ones in my opinion. Before you go. IYKYK… While announcing this particular song, Lewis mentioned that this was the last song. Loud gasps and “aaawwww’s” went through the room – the audience has loosened up a lot by this time and there was a special kind of energy in the room). While Lewis joked around and was “outraged” by how people didn’t have enough of him already, he again said: it will be my – cue the quotation marks – “LAST song”. Aaaahh there we go. Of course, it wasn’t actually the last song. We all know the spiel. Artist says goodbye, goes behind the curtain, audience goes crazy, artist comes back out “wow, you want more?”. That’s exactly what happened. 

For the encore, Lewis got back on stage with only his piano player. Fans know what was about to come. One of his biggest hits was recognized within the first 2 seconds when the first few keys were hit: “Someone You Loved”. The perfect ending to an amazing night. Lewis never disappoints, Sam Ryder surprised for sure and Baloise Session as such was great as always. Thanks for having me again, can’t wait to do it all over again on Sunday and hopefully many years to come! 

Concert Pictures: Lewis Capaldi @ Baloise Session